Deep well pump



Patented July 19, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT yori-"ICE ARTHUR CRAWLEY POTTER, OF GRANTHAM, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR T A. C. POTTER & CO., LIMITED, OF GRANTHAM, ENGLAND DEEP WELL PUMP Application tiled September 24, 1927, Serial No.

This invention relates to deep well pumping installations and the like of the kind in which a centrifugal or other rotary pump or a plurality of such pumps is or are arranged '5i to operate within a bore hole or other conduit through which the liquid is pumped.

The invention relates to an improvement in or modification of the invention claimed in the prior Patent No. 1,639,703. y

In this prior specification a deep well pumping apparatus is described in which the centrifugal or other rotary pump is suspended within a bore hole, well or shaft by means of a cylindrical casing or tube which serves as the bore hole deliverypipe in which the pump driving shaft is disposed, a stationary sleeve being provided to surround the pump driving shaft so as to provide a substantially uninterrupted surrounding annular space whereby l0 water, sand or other solid material held in suspension therein may be excluded from contact with the shaft and the bearings supporting the shaft. In the construction of pumping apparatus referred to, the bearings by which the pump driving shaft is supported within the stationary sleeve are lubricated by introducing a lubricating medium into the up'- per end of the stationary sleeve, the lubricating medium flowing down from bearing to bearing and collecting at the bottom of the stationary sleeve, from whence it is dischar ed through a pipe extending to the surface y means of air pressure within the stationary sleeve or by means of a pump.

According to the present invention the oil collecting at the lower end of the stationary sleeve is discharged through a pipe into a reservoir disposed at a determined depth in the bore hole below the centrifugal or other rotary pump and the oil is withdrawn from the reservoir and discharged through a pipe extending to the upper end of the bore hole by means of a pump or compressor which is supplied with compressed air through a pipe extending downwardly from the well head. The pipes, through which the oil is discharged y and through which the compressed air is supplied to the pump, conveniently extend in adjacent positions in the bore hole exterior to the bore hole delivery pipe and may be pro- 221,790, and in Great Britain October 20, 1926.

vided in sections corresponding to the sections of the bore hole delivery pipe, stationary sleeve and pump driving shaft.

The invention further comprises the features hereinafter described.

' The accompanying drawing illustrates the application of the invention, by way of eX- ample.

Figure l is a View in elevation of an installation provided according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a detail sectional view of a pump shaft bearing according to the invention.

In carrying the invention into effect accordmg to one construction as illustrated in Figure l of the accompanying drawing, the stationary parts of a centrifugal or other rotary pump a are suspended from a cylindrical casing or tube b forming a bore hole delivery pipe which is conveniently constructed in sections of ldetermined length, while the pump driving shaft c, which may also be provided in corresponding sectional lengths, is supported by bearings at intervals in its length within a stationary sleeve d surrounding the shaft and supported within the bore hole delivery pipe b by means of spider or other suitable fittings. The stationary sleeve terminates at a position adjacent the upper end of the pump and is provided at this position with a stuiiing box a1 or the equivalent through which the pump driving shaft passes.

A pipe e or the equivalent is provided to extend radially from the lower vend of the stationary sleeve to the exterior of the bore hole delivery pipe and this pipe is connected at its outer end to a ydownwardly extending pipe f which communicates with the upper end of a reservoir or tank g disposed at a determined depth in the bore hole below the centrifugal or other rotary pump a. The lower end of the reservoir or tank g is connected to a downwardly extending pipe L which terminates in a lateral connecting fitting z' from which an oil discharge pipe j, conveniently of smaller diameter, extends upwardly to the well head. In position adjacent t e lower end ofthe oil discharge 1pipe a pumpor compressor lc of any suitable nown construction is provided and a pipe l extending downwardly from the well head is connected to the pump for the'supply of compressed air thereto.

It will be understood that the air supply pipe,oil discharge pipe and downwardly extending pipe leading fromthe lower end of the stationary sleeve conveniently extend in adjacent parallel positions adjacent and exterior to the bore hole delivery pipe.

In order that the oil may be evenly and thoroughly distributed upon each bearing a construction such as that represented in Figure 2 may be adopted. The stationary sleeve d may be provided in position immediately above each pump shaft supporting bearing with an inwardly directed deflecting flange LZ1 by which oil flowing down the wall of the stationary sleeve may be directed upon the pump driving shaft c Jfrom whence the oil on reaching the bearing 01 will be thrown outward to some extent by centrifugal force, any oil which on passing through the bearing remains upon the shaft being thrown upon the wall of the stationary sleeve d by means of a deflector c2, which may be of substantially conical form, provided upon the pump drivin shaft c in position immediately below t e respective shaft supporting bearing. lThe bearings c1 serve to support the respective couplings by means of which the opposite and engaging ends of adjacent sectionsof the pump driving shaft c are connected together. The oil in ilowing down the respective deectors d1 is deposited upon the top face of the coupling beneath where it may be accumulated and whence it is distributed partly and mainly to the outside and on the bearin c1 and partly also to the inside of the coup ing.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the features of construction hereinbefore described. For example the air supply pipe and the oil discharge pipe may extend within the bore hole delivery pipe or may be provided in sections integrally attached to the corresponding sections of the cylindrical casing or tube.

I claim:

In a deep well pumping apparatus having a deep well pump, a sectional pump shaft, couplings connecting adjacent ends of contiguous sections and a shaft tube for the support of the pump driving shaft couplings in bearings, lubricating means comprising an outlet pipe for the lubricant connected at its upper end to the lower end ofthe said shaft tube and at its lower end to a reservoir for the lubricant, an air operated lubricant circulating pump set below the well pump, an `oil admission pipe -extending from the reservoir to the said air operated lubricant circulating pump, and an oil delivery pipe extending from the said air operated lubricant circulating pump to the well head, an air supply pipe extending from a. source of air under pressure at the well head to the said air operated lubricant circulating pump, means for directing lubricant on to the couplings by which the sections of the pump driving shaft are respectively connected and on to the bearings by which the said couplings are respectively supported, and for directing the lubricant from the said couplings and bearings to the shaft tube, com` prising pairs of deflecting langes, the ilanges of the respectivepairs being mounted above and beneath the said couplings and bearings, substantially as hereinbefore described.

ARTHUR CRAWLEY POTTER. 

